Virginia Republican senators to kill electoral college change

[octoberlib]

A plan to alter the winner-takes-all Electoral College rules in the state of Virginia is on the chopping block after two Republican state senators on a key committee said they would oppose it, according to The Associated Press.

The proposed remake would have changed how electoral votes are tabulated by anchoring them to congressional districts, which are largely drawn to favor incumbents — the majority being Republicans, even though Democrats won the House popular vote in 2012.

Had the bill been passed ahead of last year’s presidential election, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would have been declared winner in Virginia even though President Barack Obama won the popular vote by hundreds of thousands of actual voters.


Similar bills are being considered in the key swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, AP noted, and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus is encouraging state lawmakers to take up the cause.

Raw Story (http://s.tt/1yXmg)

[graham4anything]

1. as posted, Al Gore would have won in 2000 with the republican wanted change in tally

they won't do it. It would bite them in the ass.

Gore would have more than gotten 270 just from Virginia alone.

[jberryhill]

2. Yeah, we celebrated the 2 from Nebraska in 2008 for Obama

[KamaAina]

11. We only got one

from the 2nd CD (Omaha and suburbs).

Which has since been gerrymandered to the point that it went repuke this time.

[jberryhill]

12. 2 from 1, 1 from the 2nd, whatever...

I thought that Nebraska allocated its electoral votes as:

1 for each Congressional District, and

2 for the overall popular vote (i.e. the 2 votes allocated on the basis of US senate seats)

But, I could be wrong.

[KamaAina]

16. Correct.

We got the 2nd CD. They got the 1st and 3rd, plus the statewide vote, for a total of 4 to 1.

[KamaAina]

10. Districts were not as gerrymandered then

the repukes really put the hammer down in the states they won in 2010, not just VA but ones that are normally Dem or at least split, like PA, MI, WI and OH (remember Dennis Kucinich?)

Figures they'd win big right before the census and the ensuing redistricting.

[samsingh]

3. the voting patterns in 2016 will be very different than 2012

Obama faced alot of racism that showed started voting differences by location. With someone like Hillary running, this will not be the case and the results will bite the asswipe repugs.

[Tx4obama]

4. MSNBC - GOP's electoral vote scheme likely illegal in Virginia

MSNBC - GOP's electoral vote scheme likely illegal in Virginia
Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014380839

Also additional info regarding Virginia and info regarding FLORIDA in the comments here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022260006

[octoberlib]

5. Thanks, Tx4obama!

[Demo_Chris]

6. The real GOP problem is that there is no way to spin it.

Voter ID laws can be spun. Restricting voting times and places can be spun. This, not even a little. It is clearly an effort to cheat. It is only an effort to cheat.

[socialindependocrat]

7. Why is gerrymandering allowed to exist?

It obviously creates an advantage for one party. Why isn't it declaired illegal?

My B-I-L worked for the MA elections department and he said
they have rules that are followed when the voting districts are set up.

These games ought to be declaired unethical and the promoters should
lose their jobs. The scam should be identified by members of congress and
there needs to be some federal laws that prohibit obvious scams.

[jberryhill]

13. Define "gerrymandering" in a way that tells you how to draw a district

We owe our paralysis to address gerrymandering to the limited geometric vocabulary of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

[krispos42]

15. We should go to a more parlimentary system, I think.

If a state has X representatives, then each party should put up a slate of candidates. You vote for the party, then the votes are counted. If your party receives a certain percentage of the vote, your party gets a certain percentage of the representatives.

In the bigger states, this would mean that 3rd parties would get some of the seats in Congress.

The party primaries would become very important because it would determine the ranking of candidates on the slate.



Or, alternately, you could have ranked voting on the general ballot... you vote for the candidates of the parties, and then the vote-counters figure out how many people voted democratic, how many for repube, etc., then rank the candidates of each party.

[meow2u3]

18. If we had a parliamentary system, Boner would be prime minister

God help us!

[krispos42]

19. Democratic representatives got far more votes in 2012 than Repube representatives.

Besides, the process of electing the Speaker would still be the same, I think.

[meow2u3]

20. You'd be right if the districting process were fair

Our problem is summed up in two words: gerrymandered districts.

[krispos42]

22. If treat the entire state as one district...

...they you can't really gerrymander.

[DonCoquixote]

8. this is why whenever they try BS like this

we need to pounce quick and scream all over the media! I knwk Florida is going to try this next, so i am prepared to yell and give hell if they do.

[Politicub]

9. Probably staged. The GOP saves the day

but from itself.

[supercats]

14. For Real???

Could it be that a couple of republicans actually have a conscious??? It would be a first. Don't hold your breath. They could easily be brow beaten by one or both of the Koch brothers.

[Lesmoderesstupides]

17. If districts were not Gerrymanded to hell and back, by BOTH Parties

yes this is one of the few times they both do it. The GOP would be a very minor party in America today and it would have been for a number of years now, if not decades.

[0rganism]

21. we'll see if they try again in 2015

when they have a 3-4 vote majority in their state senate.

Democrats better fight like hell to get the governorship back!

[sad-cafe]

23. this is one time the media was useful

the GOP couldn't secretly do this